


The Medusa Nether

by BlueLightningAndNexus



Series: Blue Lightning and Nexus' Multiverse [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angels, Dark Fantasy, Demons, Elves, Exorcists, F/F, Magic, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueLightningAndNexus/pseuds/BlueLightningAndNexus
Summary: Part of a larger universe I'm creating. This is set in the same world as another story of mine called "Gabriel, the Summoner," albeit set in modern times instead of the early 1900s.This is set in a world where Demons and Angels exist, and have been fighting since the dawn of time; both species use magic, and to combat them, certain humans have developed the art of "Summoning". There are two parallel worlds: Dacchus is home to various fairy tales, gods, and other magical species (dwarves, elves, fairies, etc.) whereas the Inquiry Realm is home to Warlocks, the hybrid children of Angels and Demons.The world had an unsteady peace until late 2018, wherein thousands of demons suddenly began attacking the world, starting with the west coast of the United States of America. One of the only surviving cities, Edge City, became a sanctuary for magic-users, humans, and Warlocks. Six months after the attack, an Angel named Athena Lake predicts that seven chosen heroes will find the source of the attack and bring peace to the world.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Series: Blue Lightning and Nexus' Multiverse [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798072





	1. Prologue

Bellatrix looked out the window, her face a calm window of emotionless thought. Her gold and silver pistols, Gold Light and Silver Shadow, were clutched tightly in her hands. While it was impossible to tell because of her skin-tight leather sleeves that extended over her fingers, her knuckles were white from clutching her pistol handles so tightly.

Bellatrix wasn’t tired, not really, but she was bored and in such a deep state of thought over her mission that she was tempted to fall asleep, but as she closed her eyes and let slumber fall over her, a sudden blast of turbulence hit the side of the helicopter, forcing her to concentrate on her mission; protect Nova. She couldn’t do that if she was just waking up from a nap.

Nova was sitting across from her, but he wasn’t paying attention to his bodyguard; unlike most demons, he preferred to stay both visible and in his human form, and in this case it came in handy, considering he didn’t want the guards or citizens of Edge City to presume he was a threat. Nova had never been here before, but for the last three months, rumors had been circulating all around Western United States, each rumor a whisper, but all saying one thing: “Go to Edge City. Find Athena Lake.”

True enough, Nova was currently fulfilling both parts of the whispers, but it was for a diplomatic mission, not for security purposes. He was currently engaging in his nervous habit of igniting and extinguishing the same apple-sized, orange blaze in his right palm, a nervous habit he picked up when he came to Earth.

“Boss,” said Jack Zhou in the front seat, causing Nova and Bellatrix to both dart around and face their pilot, “we’re almost there,” he said.

“I know,” said Nova, his face of determination intensified, his blood-red hair contrasting with his ocean-blue and white striped scarf. Bellatrix, her long flowing locks of raven black hair draping over her shoulders, turned her attention to her mission, not noticing or not caring about the strand of hair that fell over her eye as she turned her neck. “Nova,” Bellatrix said in her usual stoic manner. She was the only one that either had enough courage or stupidity to call Nova by his actual name, but considering the circumstances, she didn’t care; besides, anyone that saw her in her prime wouldn’t dare think of her as stupid.

“Yes, Belle,” said Nova. His nickname for her was neither romantic nor said in a teasing manner; rather, he thought the name Bellatrix was just too 1900s.

“Are you afraid?” asked Bellatrix. Her question didn’t surprise Nova, for they had been companions for almost two months and he learned to realize what mood she was in, what she was thinking, and what she was feeling at any given point in the day, but it did impress poor Jack in the front, who though the witch was flirting with the demon.

“Yes,” said Nova, “but not for the reasons you think.”

This surprised Bellatrix. Nova was never afraid, but when he was, it was almost always because he was facing an immense danger, such as other demons. He, Belle, Acheron, Team B and Samantha had fought their fair share over the past few weeks, but for Nova to explicitly state that such a danger wasn’t the cause for his fear surprised the immortal summoner.

“Why are you afraid then?” asked Bellatrix, her face showing a hint of curiosity for the first time in what seemed like years for all three people in the helicopter. “I don’t fear the guards at the gate,” said Nova, clenching his fist and causing his knuckles to partially ignite, this time with purple fire, “but I am afraid of Athena.”

“We’re here,” said Jack, turning around to face his superiors. Bellatrix gave him a slight glare for interrupting Nova’s train of thought, but Jack spun around to face his surrounding so fast he probably didn’t even notice.

The helicopter hovered briefly above the landing zone as four heavily armed guards all shouted orders, which were hardly audible in the nearly-hurricane levels of rain falling around them. The wind blew with the intensity to knock a grown man over and then some, but as the helicopter door opened, as Bellatrix stepped out with her bo staff ejecting to reveal an umbrella, as Nova followed her, his brown eyes alight with caution, and as the many guards pointed their machine guns at the two, one could hardly notice.

Athena Lake walked over, her river-blue hair absolutely stunning in the dark of the storm, her slender, 5’3” body carried a sense of danger and sheer omnipotence as she was surrounded by at least fifteen armed guards, each with guns, tranquilizers or crossbows pointed at the immortal demon prince and his immortal guard.

“Lake,” said Bellatrix flatly. The two female looked at each other, both with fire in their eyes, but the contrast in height was huge, and Nova amusingly looked at them, before saying “Athena, we should probably get inside. This water won’t be any good for us if we stay out here too long.”

Athena bitterly looked at Nova, before letting out an uncharacteristic huff and turning around. Her turquoise cloak whipped Bellatrix in the face, causing her fingers to tighten around the handle of Silver Shadow. Consequently, two of the soldiers tightened their grips around their guns, but Nova glared at the two, his eyes turning back to their normal red, and the two soldiers promptly left them alone.

__________________________________________________________________________

Red had always enjoyed fighting.

Anyone that knew her could testify to this, such as her uncle Robin, or her friend Hunt. So that’s why, if they were here with her now, it probably wouldn’t surprise them that Red was currently walking among a group of 20-60 year olds, all huddling down a small, narrow hallway that led to a caged coliseum.

Living with Robin for four years had taught the thirteen-year old Red to always watch out for suspicious activity in normal environments, but walking into an underground fight club, her red cloak contrasting with the dark environment and the dim lightning, Red was starting to do the opposite and watch for normal looking people in this strange environment; she already saw a couple of tired 30-year old men and women in what looked like work clothes standing on the edge, as if watching a fight would relieve their work problems (it only caused more). Very odd, but this was Dacchus.

Red took her reserved seat in the front row, her bow and quiver hidden behind her blood-red cloak. Her bow was a gift from Robin, and it was far more modern then his, being able to fold up into a small, brick-shaped hunk of metal and plastic, but her massive leather quiver, filled with wooden arrows, was harder to conceal, so she had to sit uncomfortably with her back turned to the left and her front turned to the right. Nevertheless, Red had grown used to sitting like this, and she didn’t mind.

The fight had already started when Red walked in, but it was only now getting heated; the first opponent, a blond-haired girl that Red didn’t recognize, was in one corner, her head turned to the side, as if both simultaneously mocking and examining her opponent, taunting her with her massive boxing gloves, begging for a fight, and Mina was in the center, her piano-wire nun chuck wrapped calmly around her wrist like a bracelet, like she had worn it her whole life. Red had seen the black-haired girl, Mina, fight before, but never up close; usually she either watched some bootlegers video recording of her fight, or she saw someone else fight.

Suddenly, Red felt very tired. While Robin showed her how to operate fully functional with only four hours of sleep (turns out it’s just a lot of meditating, tea and push-ups), this was her fifth night out in a row. Robin was out on another week-long mission, and Hunt hardly cared if Red was out (he was a night owl himself), but Red was starting to regret her actions.

On the other hand, she had to find out what Nyx was doing.

She previously heard from Alice that Nyx had been seen around Sector Six, but no one dared go there unless there was nowhere else to go, and with a nice Sector Three home to live in, Red didn’t particularly want to go there. On the other hand, Lance had previously told her that Nyx had been spotted in Sector Four, where Red was currently at.

At the thought of Lance, Red blushed, her light crimson cheeks growing closer to a tomato red, but her scroll suddenly started ringing. Robin had recently bought if for her fifteenth birthday, but it cost him four paychecks, and Red was so delighted to finally communicate with her friends long-distance over Dacchus. Just as Gold threw another punch and Mina dodged it, Red pulled out her scroll, plugging one finger into her left ear in the process, and answered it.

“Hello,” said Alice timidly on the other end. Red smiled, of course it was her. Alice was the only one in their group who, despite having a far rougher background than them, had a timid voice like a squeaking mouse.

“Yeah,” said Red nonchalantly, her body instantly relaxing at the sound of her best friend, “I’m here.”

“How is it?” asked Alice.  
“Pretty boring,” replied Red. “I’m probably just going to go home.”

“That’s too bad,” said Alice, her voice doing that signature squeak when she tried to convey emotion. “Hear anything about your uncle?”

“He’s not gonna be back for another two days, as I previously thought,” asked Red.

“What about- “said Alice, but her sentence was abruptly cut off by a burst of static from her scroll so loud, it caused people to glare at Red from up to four seats away.

“That’s odd,” said Red, not caring about the dozen or more people glaring at her. She got up and held her scroll to the ceiling, hoping to get a signal, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked over at the window at the far left of the stadium, and over the deafening cheer of people rooting for the blonde-haired contestant, Red could see a pair of bright, red eyes peeking through the window.

Then another.

Red instinctively reached for her bow, but it was too late. A group of about four guys, all men, burst through the window. The audience was so loud, that even with these four people charging through surges of bystanders, it took almost ten seconds for everyone to notice, and fifteen seconds for the girls in the stadium to stop fighting.

Red heard the noise of a woman screaming, her bloodcurdling shriek echoing through the dome as one of the men charged for Red. Red side-stepped away from the massive man’s charge, drawing her bow in the process. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it from her right hand, into her left hand, caught it, and pumped her left arm, causing the compact weapon to unfold. More people around her screamed as Red drew an arrow and shot it through the big man’s chest. He fell over instantly, dead.

Red had made her first kill.

Tears began to brim around her eyes, but she stopped herself before she broke down into ragged sobs. Focus, she said as the screaming and conflict intensified around her, follow your training. Red closed her eyes, willing herself to not surrender to her emotions, and when she turned around, she saw another one of the big men.

This one was different though; his skin was a pale white, like snowy grass on a winter morning, but without the faint hint of green. As she looked closer, Red could see that he had shark-like teeth, sharpened into ivory daggers; the teeth, skin, red eyes, and his slicked back charcoal-colored hair gave him the impression of some kind of monster, which his bulky physique certainly matched.

As this second man charged her, Red followed her instincts and matched his sprint; she knew that he was focused on her specifically, as there were four people to her left and three to her right that she saw while running, which made her realize this person was looking specifically for her.

But why?

This entire train of thought occurred in the time it took for a person to exhale a breath, and as this all occurred to Red, she realized that if someone was looking for her, it might be about Nyx.

And why she’s been missing for eight days.

Red ran over to the man as he did the same, but when she reached the corpse of the fallen man that she had previously shot, she took a bit of a leap, slightly longer then a normal step, reached his shoulder, used it as a launching pad, and focused all of her energy into her legs; she leaned into her knees and towards the pale charging man at the same time, before kicking off, her tiny body going over his head as he reached desperately for her.

As Red whizzed by his head like a human bullet, she saw that, on the side of his scalp, was a red triangle. Her first thought was a tattoo, but as she saw bumps on the side of it, like a bad rash, she remembered what Robin told her: Tattoos don’t have texture, brands do. As soon as this realization hit her, she was promptly hit by the fist of a third red-eyed man.

Red was instantly knocked out.


	2. Chapter One: A Day To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our resident sarcastic witch, Bellatrix, and Athena have a talk.

Bellatrix was not happy.

Athena had taken Nova into a large interrogation room, about ten-feet tall, eight feet long and six feet wide, that was made entirely out of concrete. The angel had insisted that Nova and her were on the same side, but she rather conveniently ignored Bellatrix when the summoner voiced concern over Athena’s interrogation and had a gun pointed on her the whole time. Really, it wasn’t her fault; ever since the demon attack, everyone was paranoid, and having a girl that used demons in fighting and an actual demon himself suddenly visit a safeguard against demonic attacks didn’t help anything.

But Bellatrix still couldn’t deal with the stubbornness of this girl; Nova and Bellatrix were clearly on their side, having cooperated with the security all day, putting up with disgruntled soldiers, and even allowing intense questioning.

But Bellatrix wasn’t going to give up Nova, her mission, to that pathetic excuse of an angel. As the witch’s anger surged and flourished, like flames around charcoal, she leaned against a large wooden door, angry at her inability to listen to Athena’s conversation with the demon.

The witch suddenly heard footsteps, and she got up from her seated position next to the door, trying to look as composed as possible. As she watched Nova walk so closely to Athena, she couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous, but of who she didn’t know.

“Ready?” asked Athena, her voice gentler then earlier today.

“I’ve been ready for thirty minutes,” said Bellatrix flatly. Nova looked between his two companions, feeling the tension between them, before telling the witch “Belle, be polite,”. The summoner in question merely scoffed and walked towards the exit of the interrogation chamber as if she owned the place.

“Nova’s cleared,” called Athena after Bellatrix, “I know you would’ve gone in anyways, but both of you are cleared to come into the city.”

Athena, Nova and Bellatrix walked towards the entrance into Edge City. The name of the town was as deserving as humanly possible, it was located on a massive canyon drop-off, called “the Edge” by the residents, and what it didn’t have in radius of size, it made up for with massive buildings; it was secured by 20 guards for all four directions, each armed with guns loaded with Serpent Steel bullets so as to prevent demons from attacking.

Bellatrix was not one to be surprised, or delighted, by architecture, but right now, she most certainly was; the buildings rose to seven stories tall, a remarkable feat for something built in the aftermath of the demon attack three years ago. It took a lot to convince Bellatrix to not have her pistols out, but the city made her feel so secure she couldn’t help but put her guns back in their hostlers stationed around her hips. Nova, Bellatrix and Athena all walked in a single-file line towards a large concrete wall, roughly 30 feet tall.

The three all walked with the same level of audacity and courage that you would expect from the last angel on Earth, the most powerful demon of the modern age and an immortal witch. Bellatrix looked at the angel and demon, before having an uncharacteristic blush cross her cheeks. A guard ran over the Athena from the opposite direction.

“What is it Constantine,” she asked flatly, her attention clearly more focused on her two companions.

“My lady-” began the guard, but he was cut off by Athena raising a hand.

“You know I hate that title,” she said. Nova cracked a smile at the angel’s rebellious nature and lack of acknowledgement for authority. Everyone else in ignored the smile.

“Miss Lake,” he said, “We just got word: Light is on his way from San Francisco.”

“Light?” asked Nova, “as in Light Yuro?”

“Who the heck is that?” asked Bellatrix, clearly annoyed at the interruption from their trip inside the city.

“A human-” began Constantine, but the poor officer seemed unable to get a word in, as Bellatrix rudely interrupted him. “Why is a human going out on missions from Edge City? Usually warlocks and summoners do that.”

“Belle,” said Nova, “don’t be rude.”

Timidly, Bellatrix turned back to the officer and told him “No offense. Magical beings usually go on missions.”

“None taken,” said Constantine, but his voice indicated otherwise to Athena.

“Anyways,” Athena said, “Light is one of the few humans left that can see angels and demon. He has a rare genetic disorder that allows him to see through their disguises, even higher-level demons.”

“And,” said the officer, “he is only two days away now.”

“Thank you, officer,” said Athena. “Dismissed.”

The officer scurried off, likely to spread this news to other parts of the city.

“Can I talk to you?” asked Athena to Bellatrix. The witch shrugged, leaned against a wall nonchalantly, and folded her arms. “What? We have a mission here, Lake,” said Athena. Bellatrix said the last word like it was poison seeping from her mouth, like it was the most bitter part of her day. Athena sighed and leaned in close, before whispering through gritted teeth “In private”.

Taking the hint, Nova promptly walked to the end of the hallway and out the entrance. Both girls watched him intently, before turning toward each other, the height difference being unbearably humorous to Bellatrix, but not so to Athena.

The two, on the same train of thought, turned around and entered an empty storage chamber. Bellatrix walked in, flipped on a light, and sat down on the nearby dark oak bench as if she knew the area her whole life. Athena knew better; it was just a mannerism of Bellatrix, to examine an environment and treat it as her own. Whether it was to assert dominance or comfort was beyond her.

“What’s gotten into you?” asked Athena, her face showing hints of disgust, and something else. Envy, thought Bellatrix. But she didn’t dwell on it.

“I’m just doing my job and escorting Nova,” she replied flatly.

“Bullshit,” Athena said as she sat down on the bench next to her. “You were obviously annoyed at that guard. Why? What is it about this place?”

“You know what,” replied the witch, looking away in anger.

“Is it fear? Is it me?”

“I just said,” said Bellatrix, her voice rising in the enclosed space, “You know what!”

“It is me,” said Athena, no longer a question, now a statement.

“Took ya long enough,” said Bellatrix bitterly.

“Belle, please-”

“Don’t call me that,” said Bellatrix, now less angry and simply annoyed.

“Nova calls you it!” proclaimed the immortal angel. Bellatrix was expecting her to make a racist remark, but it never happened; rather it went unsaid.

“What’s so special about him?” asked Athena.

“We’re friends,” said Bellatrix, “and I've spent the last couple months with him!” she practically yelled, pointing at the door with a now unsheathed pistol.

“You guys are friends,” Athena stated.

“Kinda,” said the summoner, calming down and putting her pistol away. “More like acquaintances.”

An awkward silence ensued.

“You were worried we were a couple,” said Bellatrix. “It’s pretty obvious.”

“You know,” said Athena, awkwardly brushing her bangs behind her ears, “I kinda thought you’d be over us by now.”

“I am,” said Bellatrix.

“Then why are you so mad about being here?” asked Athena.

Bellatrix had no answer.

Athena got up and, somewhat amusingly, held out a hand towards Bellatrix. The latter accepted, took it, and pulled herself back up to her feet. Bellatrix wordlessly walked towards the door, but as she turned the brass knob, she turned around to Athena and told her “We might not be together, but this is a dangerous time. I…I still care about you.”

A crimson blush surged across Athena’s cheeks. This was no longer two rivals in the same room. This was two former lovers.

Bellatrix walked out the door.


	3. Chapter Two: Meeting New People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova meets a new escort, who will prove to be an invaluable ally in the near future.

This was not Nova’s day.

The demon sat on the bench, a small sliver of the roof extending from the gutter and shielding him from the rain. He pitied the armed guards sitting out here, watching him, thinking that he would pull some stunt; it couldn’t have been fun being pressured into watching a man for several minutes while he waits for his escorts to come back, in soaking rain, in an already hot and sweaty uniform.  
More so, Nova was impatient, and waiting in the cold for Athena and Bellatrix to get back annoyed him. The fact that it was raining alone was enough reason to qualify this as a bad day; Nova, and all demons for that matter, didn’t particularly like water, as it made it hard to use their fire powers.

Nova’s attention was recaptured from boredom when a pair of heavy, metallic footsteps appeared nearby. The demon looked up and found a tall woman, about 6’ tall, with red hair and streaks in it that ranged from a light strawberry color to a deep blood color. Her eyes were gold like sunny orbs, and she wore an iron set of armor, including forearm and shin guards and a thick breastplate. Her face was solid and serious, like it had been carved out of stone, and she was extremely brawny, with muscles flexing and stretching in gaps in her armor with every movement.

“Um, hello,” said Nova awkwardly. Any charisma or intelligence faded as he questioned her highly armored appearance. “Hello, Mr. Torvald,” said the woman flatly. Nova frowned intensely.

“How do you know that name?” he asked. He tried to act as calm as possible, but his voice carried intense anger.

“I’m your new escort,” she said, as if that explained everything.

“I'll repeat,” said Nova, “how do you know that name? My real name?”

“Please come with me,” she said, obviously ignoring the question and not caring. She appeared incredibly emotionless, and her voice carried a hint of both boredom and duty, like a kid being told to go unload the dishwasher when he clearly didn’t want to.

“What’s your name?” asked Nova. “I don’t mean to sound creepy,” he said without waiting for a response, “but if you’re my escort instead of Bellatrix, then I should probably know your name.”

The woman didn’t respond. She looked at the guards, but if it was with disgust or nervousness, she didn’t know.

“Speaking of which, where is Bellatrix? And Athena?”

The red-haired woman shrugged. “I have no idea where your current escort is,” she said with slightly more emotion, “but all I know is that they’re together.”

Great, thought Nova, my bodyguard and guide left me. This is just what I needed.

The woman held out her hand, and despite it being metal and soaked with rainwater, Nova took it. She pulled him to his feet, exposing his hair, neck and forehead to some of the water running of the roof in the process, before telling him “Come. Athena asked me specifically to take you to the security. She wanted to show you our defenses.”

Nova and the woman walked into the rain.

As Nova became more wet with rain (it didn’t take long), he couldn’t help noticing her pale skin, yellow eyes and red hair, a combination of traits unique in humans but uncommon in other species. At some point, he realized he was staring at her beauty, but if she noticed, she didn’t care.

After a few more minutes of walking in the rain, the ground started to slightly slope downwards, and rushing streams of water flowed on the sidewalks. The short, metal military compounds blended and then turned into tall concrete buildings, and more people appeared, and in raincoats and dresses instead of camouflage and uniforms. Nova opened his mouth to ask the woman a question, but without even looking at him, she said in a highly authoritative voice “I have a boyfriend.”

Definitely not what Nova was expecting.

“I was just going to ask why you’re wearing armor in the safest city this side of the world,” the demon responded, eyes darting at her own. The woman began blushing at jumping to conclusions, before turning away. Her hair was soaked into a wet mop of crimson at this point, and Nova’s own hair began to shift from a brown color into a black one. As a demon, his shapeshifting abilities naturally and reflexively fluctuated during different weather patterns.

The woman didn’t respond to Nova’s question, and he continued. “I don’t mean to be pestering, but I can’t imagine that being comfortable.”

“I am most comfortable when I am impervious to all physical harm,” she said as if it was the most obvious reason in the world. Around the time that she said this, Nova noticed a long handle emerging from her armor, and he realized that this woman had a blade built into her armor. Suddenly, her statement made slightly more sense, though Nova couldn’t imagine why.

“Erica,” the woman finally said.

Nova looked confused. She turned to him for the first time in several minutes, before timidly telling him “My name is Erica.”

“Oh,” said Nova. He figured that the woman had simply concealed that information from him due to him being a demon, but he now realized that she had spent the last several minutes debating the pros and cons of telling the person she was escorting her name.

“Are you another angel?” he asked after what felt like several more minutes of silence. “I don’t mean to sound weird, or-or odd or anything,” he said, stumbling over his words awkwardly, “but I’ve just never seen a human with yellow eyes.”

Erica faced him one again, her eyes indeed yellow, as if they were burning in the sun. She looked almost stunned, before telling him “I’m a Fay”.

Once again, not what Nova was expecting.

A Fay was a being with an angel father and a fairy mother. They possessed a combination of both angelic and fairy physical abilities, but, like warlocks, they were easy bait for monsters, so they often lived in Heaven, which was currently sealed off. It was surprising that Erica was in Edge City instead of Heaven. “Why are you on Earth?” asked Nova.

“Besides the obvious?” she asked with a chuckle and a smirk. Nova found himself looking at the sword disguised on her armor, but Erica suddenly stopped.

“We’re here,” she said, her voice devoid of feeling.

Nova looked up, and saw another wall, similar to the one that he, Athena and Bellatrix all entered outside Edge City. Unlike that one, this one was a pale blue, almost white, color, and rather than being made up of gray concrete, it was made up of loosely fitted stones and thick sheets of metal. The various stray pieces of metal emerged from the middle and base of the wall, almost like spikes, which, when combined with the pale blue color of the wall, gave the impression it was made out of ice. The actual wall itself was much shorter than the one guarding Edge City, only about 20 feet in height compared to its predecessor.

As Nova examined it, he noticed that there were two massive dark oak doors at the front of the castle-like wall. He must’ve still been a good twenty feet away from the entrance, but he could still see that the doors must’ve been at least 10 feet tall. As he examined them, his love for architecture kicking in, he noticed it open. A squadron of guards came out, each with an older rifle that looked like it was from the 90s, and each with two black objects holstered onto their belts, which Nova could only assume were the pistol and ammo. They all sprinted out of the wall, before forming two lines about ten men long, and a familiar mop of blue-dyed hair walked out of the wall. As Athena strode down between the lines, the guards heavily armored and modern design clashed with the surreal castle-like quality of the wall, almost as if Athena was some modern princess and this was her mansion.

Nova, without waiting for Erica to tell him it was safe to approach Athena, walked over to the fallen angel, a somewhat smug look on her face. The rain had lessened since Bellatrix and Nova’s arrival, but it was still pouring; Nova was soaked to the bone and he doubted that he could use his fire powers for another good hour at the rate he was at, while Athena looked smug in an overly-sized black coat that looked like it belonged to someone who was over a foot taller than her.

Speaking of overly tall people…

“Where’s Bellatrix?” Nova asked. Athena smiled at his words, which were subtlety and equally threatening and scared. The way he put emphasis on her name almost made it sound like Athena was holding her captive…almost like he was deeply concerned for her.

Athena pushed jealousy for her mind; the last thing she was concerned with was a demon who couldn’t even summon fire at the moment, and she wasn’t going to let that change.

“Safe,” said the angelic leader. The word hung in the air, which seemed no surprise considering the angel and demon were surrounded on nearly all sides by the finest human men and weapons available. Athena let it hang a moment more. “You didn’t think I’d actually hurt her, did you?” 

The tension was only defused by the summoner in question walking out of the miniature fortress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erica is a character from another story of mine.   
> Many of these fantasy stories involving angels and demons are set in the same universe; her series is set a few years before this, but being a Fay, she hasn't changed at all over the years.


	4. Chapter Three: Callum and Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet two new characters; an exorcist and his swordsman best friend.

Callum Lewis watched with a combination of awe, fright and caution as the demon came out of the helicopter. He didn’t understand how, but he could sense from here that there was another presence on that helicopter, as strong as if not stronger than the demon himself.

It was all the kids could talk about at school. Kylon had been the worst about it, so Callum was glad when she took off to buy their team groceries. She was always the mom of the group, and as much as that annoyed him sometimes, he appreciated it. Kylon was only six months older then him, but she acted like it was six years considering how much she pestered him into getting his homework done (despite hardly doing it herself) and eating and, worst of all, bathing (it wasn’t that Callum was overly unhygienic, which he kind of was depending on how you ask, but two baths daily was just downright unnecessary. Enough is enough).

He kind of missed having his own mother. She had gotten pregnant with him when she was only in High School, and as soon as he was born, she left, only to come back when he was four. It was nice those years, living with his mom and Uncle David. Then she left again, and never came back. He still didn’t know her, but Athena knew him plenty and let him come to Edge City. You know, before demons invaded Nevada and it went to hell (pun intended).

He watched the window intently, grateful that he got to see this demon with his own eyes, compared to his classmates, who would probably hear about the whole thing in the morning. But that urge wouldn’t leave him, that there was still someone on that plane, and that feeling sank in his gut, like when you know you should be doing a lab report but gosh darn it Stranger Things just got on Netflix and you’re already waking up in six hours anyways.

Television analogies aside, Callum knew this feeling well. Ever since he was a boy, David told him that he was special, that David and Callum’s mom were descendants of someone great. Callum hardly saw his grandmother before she died, may abuela rest in peace, but when he did, she talked about how he was the latest Lewis in a long line of summoners. As far as Callum knew, that was the main reason  
Being a summoner was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. You could use the power to your advantage and summon low-level demons, but it attracted other high-level demons. This didn’t seem to be the case with this devil. This entire train of thought occurred in less than a second, and the devil acted oddly calm about the entire situation despite this city being a demon free-zone. All that Azula and Circe could talk about was how this was the first recorded diplomatic mission on Earth on behalf of the demons, and this particular devil certainly radiated that calmness.

Suddenly, a magical burst erupted from the helicopter as the second person walked out of the helicopter. Her entire being radiated mystery, and her appearance of golden eyes, raven black hair wrapped in a messy bun, and a skintight combat suit with golden buttons and armor-like latches along her limbs and waist practically screamed power (the fact that she was just under 6’8” fit with this). Callum instantly knew she was a summoner, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint why she was so…powerful. She seemed far older then everything around her, like she had seen the rise and fall of civilization itself, despite the fact that she was next to an angel and demon (it should be noted that the demon and Athena were both teenagers by immortal standards, but it’s all relative).

Two pale, skinny arms wrapped around Callum’s waist, pulling him into a hug. A small head rested on Callum’s muscular shoulders, and the young summoner felt eternally grateful to have Shadow with him.

“Hey dude,” said Callum nonchalantly. Shadow wrapped his slender, pale fingers around Callum’s, and Callum tightened their hug, his attention going back to his teammate and best friend.

“Lewis,” Shadow Lynk said, “when are we going to the theater?” His eyes were closed, and he looked incredibly peaceful, so much so that if Callum didn’t know the boy he would think he was asleep.

“Soon,” said Callum, eyes looking to the young reaper. “But that devil the girls were talking about just got here.”

Shadows lazy eyes darted open instantly, and he jerked his head forward, almost head-butting Callum in the process. “Where?” he said, his voice suddenly awake and filled with energy. Shadow looked at the devil, Athena and the mysterious summoner all talking, before Athena turned around and walked away, the summoner girl looking incredibly annoyed in the process. The three all walked away, but just beforehand, they saw the devil’s eyes flicker colors from a hazel brown to a deep blood red.

“Yeah, he’s definitely a demon,” said Shadow. “Holy crap,” said Callum, “the girls were right. Athena really did let a demon into Edge City.”  
They were so caught up with the evidence that the man they just witnessed was a devil that they didn’t notice when he walked away. Suddenly, Shadows eyes darted up, looking at the now empty helicopter and realizing they had missed the man leave.

“Callum,” said Shadow, “do you think Athena would let us ask him about Light?”

Light had been one of Edge City’s best defenders, but two weeks ago, he left on a mission and never came back. A mission of his size, scouting out the area around Edge City, should’ve only taken nine or ten days, seven if he used his Exorcist Eyes. The Exorcist Eyes were a rare genetic mutation that allowed ordinary humans to see through an angels and a demon’s disguise. Athena herself almost never used her disguise, and this devil didn’t seem to do that either. Despite this, Callum doubted this would let her ask the devil about Light.

“I doubt it,” he said, hurt and sorrow clearly being emphasized in his voice. He looked at the door, making sure Kylon wasn’t in the room, before asking Shadow “Hey, could you hand me my coat?”  
Shadow hesitated, but eventually tossed Callum his brown leather jacket. Callum’s already muscular appearance was magnified in the brown coat, which suited his hazel eyes well. Shadow couldn’t help but stare, but turned his head away before he said or thought something he would regret. Shadow himself was in a long black cloak, which wrapped around both his arms and back but also had a long cape extending from its neck, perfectly suiting his pale, slender and tall body and giving him a ghoul-like appearance that suited his namesake.

“Why are you grabbing your coat?” asked Shadow.

Callum looked up at him, that cocky grin going to be the death of the taller boy someday. “Because, Shadow,” he said, emphasizing the name with his simultaneously courageous and protecting tone of voice, “if we can’t get Athena’s permission, we’ll just have to ask him our self.”

With that, Callum jabbed his shoulder into the lever holding the window in place, unlocking it, and pried it open despite the intense wind. Shadow could feel the cold rush of air from where he was standing, and before he could disagree with Callum, the latter opened up the window. A stream of cold, wet air blew through the window, scattering homework assignments all over the room.

“What are you doing?” asked Shadow.

Callum ignored the younger boy and walked out the window, the wind whipping at his face, arms and legs. Callum’s perfect black hair whipped in various directions as he stuck a leg out on the nearby ridge. Shadow cursed the older boy’s name as he climbed out the window and towards Edge City’s newest visitor, before thinking to himself ‘fuck it’, and doing the exact same thing.


	5. Chapter 3.5: Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Athena receives a bit of advice from a supporting officer of hers. Brief interlude before the main event.

Athena and Erica walked down the hallway, Nova and Bellatrix beside them. Directly in front of Bellatrix was one of her guards, Cyprian Jonos. 

“What were you two talking about?” asked Nova. He wasn’t angry at his summoner, just somewhat frustrated she left him after so little time in Edge City.

“None of your business,” she replied coldly. Nova and Bellatrix were currently a few feet behind Athena and Cyprian, but when the two ahead of them turned a corner, Nova could clearly see that Athena was wearing pink lipstick.

Coincidentally, so was Bellatrix. This seemed odd, considering she never, ever wears makeup. Not even this morning.

For the second time in the last five minutes, Nova put two and two together.

“Sure,” he said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. “You two were definitely, definitely doing nothing together.”  
Bellatrix looked at Nova with both annoyance and confusion. What was he talking about? Nova, with a cock of his head, gestured towards the smudge of bright pink on Bellatrix’s dark lips, and she realized all too soon that her cover had been blown.

“So,” he said, “…she the ex you were talking about?”

“Shut up.”

The two walked in awkward silence, Athena in front of them, pretending not to have heard their excessively loud conversation as her cheeks and ears turned red, and Bellatrix trying not to notice how cute Athena was when she blushed.

Athena turned to Nova, telling him “Erica should be able to take you to the edge of the fortress. That’s where all our securities concentrated.” She looked at Erica, and the Fay turned to her comically short leader, before nodding in response.

Nova awkwardly held out his arm to escort Erica, despite her knowing where the place was. Athena laughed at the devil, trying not to think of the sress’s ahead of them. Erica face-palmed (which must’ve hurt considering she was still wearing her armor) before turning to Athena as if telling her Why. Why did you pair me up with him, and left with Nova, who had a skip in his step. Cyprian turned to Athena, before telling her “Boss, we should probably go.”

Athena was glad to have her commander with her; his cold, decisive and precise personality usually made her feel more comforted whenever they were next to each other.

This was not the case today. Bellatrix walked out of the bathroom, exhaling a sigh of relief upon finding Nova gone, and turned to Athena. Athena turned around, her small stature comically contrasting with the towering guards in the wall, and Bellatrix for that matter. “Alright,” she said, Bellatrix’s large coat draping over her shoulders, “there should be another escort.”

Cyprian and Bellatrix both nodded in agreement at each other, before Athena and Cyprian turned around and walked away in the opposite direction. Cyprian turned to Athena, before telling his superior   
“You really like her, don’t you?”

Athena tried to hide her blush and, for the second time in the last few minutes, failed to do so. The most she could do was pull her collar over her neck to hide some of the redness. “It's fine,” Cyprian said. “I won’t judge.”

She thought for a moment, trying to come up with some kind of witty, sarcastic quip to dodge the comment or redirect the conversation, but he interrupted her train of thought. “My wife...she died during the initial attacks those months ago,” he told her. 

He briefly holstered his gun and used the now-free hand to remove his left hand, revealing a small band of silver around his ring finger. “I still wear the ring, but it’s hard, not knowing she’s here,” he continued. 

Athena had a genuinely empathetic expression painted on. “Jonos, I’m so sorry.”

He shrugged, trying to plaster on a smile. “It’s hard, but it gets a bit better everyday. I still keep in touch with her in-laws. They were in Europe during the attack, so they took refuge in one of the sanctuaries up in Venice. We talk every now and again.”

“That must have been hard,” Athena said with a nod. He put his glove back on, and retrieved the gun from his holster. “It was. This is a dangerous time we live in,” he said, almost wistfully.

“Your file said you came from a family of Summoners,” Athena said. “I imagine you were already familiar with the angels and demons of this world when the attack came.”

“That’s right.”

“But no amount of information could have prepared anyone for the attack,” she added, almost as an afterthought. 

He put a hand on her shoulder. He was centuries younger than her, but in this moment, he felt far wiser and more experienced in the ways of the world. “We’ve never lived in a time like this. No one on Earth has. Right now, the best thing we can do is find our own little sanctuary.” He turned around, and she followed suit, the two looking back at Bellatrix. “And if that’s what makes you happy...I think you should go for it,” he concluded with a smile. A sad, small, half-hearted smile. “I’ll support you no matter what path you choose.”


End file.
